I was so scared of him that when I recognized his footfall coming down the stairs toward my office, I would lock the door, pull the shade, turn out the lights and hide. Did I mention I was a grown, 25-year-old man? It was my first full-time employment which, in many ways, I enjoyed. I...Read More

Human beings matter to me. They always have. Since the fall of 1972, much of my life has been focused on helping and guiding other human beings.  That was when the pastor of my church pulled me aside and encouraged me (twisted my arm?) to form a group of teenagers into a choir to perform...Read More

3 weeks ago, I asked these questions in my newsletter and blog post: Why are you here? What is it that gives your life meaning? What generates your sense of purpose? What voice nags at you to contribute to humanity or to the world? These are essential questions here at the two-year mark of this...Read More

I was not prepared for my transition. This, even though I saw it coming many months in advance. It didn’t sneak up on me. I certainly thought I was prepared for the change, my retirement from many decades of one type of work. I wasn’t. And neither are many of you as you face a...Read More

A few weeks ago I googled “books about life transitions”. It has been a year and a half since I began the biggest transition of my life, my retirement from 42 years of pastoral work. I, somewhat arrogantly, assumed I would simply turn out the light and close the door on one phase of my...Read More

I love strategic thinking and planning, especially when it’s all about me! I relish taking a personal retreat, carrying one of those huge post-it note flip charts with me. I enjoy spending several days dreaming about the future and crafting a plan to get there. The last time I did one of those personal planning...Read More

This morning I was thinking about death. No, I’m not ill, nor are any of my family. But the topic has certainly been front of mind lately. There’s the daily tally of COVID deaths I see every morning in the New York Times. The memorial service I’m conducting this weekend for a young lady whose...Read More

I would hide when I heard him coming. My office was at the foot of the stairs down in the basement of the building in which I worked. I knew my boss’s footfall. So, when I heard him descending the stairs, I would turn off the light in my office, lock the door and cower....Read More

I’m about to return to church. I retired from pastoral work on May 31st of this year, 2020, after a 42-year ministry career. The agreed upon plan was for me to distance myself from our church for 6 months to allow time for the new senior pastor and the church to acclimate without me hanging...Read More

I’ll bet you feel like you are in “The Land Between”. I do. That phrase is the idea behind Jeff Manion’s book of the same title. It is so evocative. You are neither where you were nor where you are going. It describes my current life well. After 42 years of doing the same thing…pastoring...Read More